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Halo 2 - Everything We Know!

So how did the engineers improve on this already great audio experience? By putting you even deeper into the game. This might be the first Xbox game to really push Dolby Digital 5.1 to its limits, and it's a wonder to hear. Bullets whizz by your ears, and you can tell almost exactly where they are coming from, allowing you to take cover or hunt your enemy down. Slower projectiles like rockets get louder as they approach, and if you're lucky enough to dodge it, you'll notice that they doppler sound is in full effect. All of the sound effects are really cool, too, from the whining sound of an about-to-explode Ghost to the moment of impact when a plasma sword hits your enemy. Words simply cannot do the audio justice, you'll just have to hear it for yourself.

All My Rowdy Friends Are, um, Staying Home Tonight?

Quick, what was the one thing that sucked about the original Halo? Chances are, if you were a multiplayer junkie like I was, you didn't have to think very long before answering that question. The lack of online play was one of the few elements that many people didn't like about Halo, and for good reason. While it offered arguably one of the best multiplayer experiences on any console, the only way you could play against your buddies was if you unplugged your Xbox, carried it over to a friend's house, and played system link games. Even then, you needed another TV for the best possible experience. No extra TV? Well, looks like you'll be stuck playing split-screen multiplayer, not exactly the worst thing in the world, but certainly not the optimal experience.

Of course, with Xbox Live being the premier online gaming service for all of the console gamers out there, it was no surprise that Halo 2 would be able to be played online. The only thing that people wondered about were the details. How many teams could play at once? What will be the maximum number of players? Would we be able to use voice chat?

At this point in time, Bungie is promising that up to 16 players will be able to battle on any given map. Keep in mind that at this point, this is a base number, and can be subject to change at anytime. We might be seeing 16, or we might be seeing 32. We won't really know until the game is released. However, one really cool thing that we've learned is that the number of players on each team (and consequently, number of teams) can vary. You might have eight teams of two, two teams of eight, or any combination in between. There have even been some reports that the teams don't have to be even. If two players are a lot better than everyone else, you might see two teams of seven taking on their two man team. The possibilities simply boggle the mind.

Another new addition, thanks to the new Xbox Live 3.0 release, is the ability to set up clans. If you've got a bunch of buddies, and you can all kick some serious ass, you can gang up to take on the world. The clans are highly customizable, too. Not only can you pick a color for the team, you can actually create an emblem for everyone to wear on their armor. Players also have logos over their heads in the multiplayer game, but whether this is a clan thing or a player thing still remains to be seen. It's also not known yet if there will be a scoring or ranking system, but there's a good chance that there will be. There have been some rumors that Bungie.net will be utilized for something, but we don't have any details on that yet.